Antecedent

by Susan Stumpf

He took a step toward me, but I backed away. I didn't know if I believed what he was saying, but I knew I didn't trust him. Vampires weren't real, but how did he move so quickly and quietly?

  "You're crazy, vampires aren't real! You're crazy."

  "Am I?" He smiled a broad smile to reveal fangs. I took two steps backward. Ok, so maybe that's why he always looked so grouchy. He couldn't smile or he'd reveal his teeth. I thought they'd be where his canines were, but they were one back it looked like. My eyes narrowed as I squinted to see, then I took another step forward. For Pete's sake, Em! That's the thing to be wondering about right now. There's a lunatic in front of you claiming to be a vampire, and you're wondering about his teeth.

  "What must I do to be believed?" he asked.

  "How about you turn into a bat and fly away," I said mockingly.

  "A body cannot change its form, that's impossible. Society has transformed what we are into something different altogether. Myths and legends have skewed what we really are."

  "That's all vampires are, myths and legends," I stated.

  "But where do myths and legends come from?" he asked. "There must be a truth there somewhere that snowballs into what they become."

  That sounded logical.

  "So are you really impotent?" Again, not the thing I should be focusing on, but if it's in my mind then it's usually out of my mouth before I know it. He chuckled. "I said mostly impotent, and yes, all vampires are."

  "Huh?" Vampires were known for being smoldering sexual creatures I thought.

  "Sit down, Em, please, so we can talk about it. You're in no danger," he said and gestured to the chair again.

  "Yeah, unless I don't want the job then you're gonna kill me, turn me into one of you, or feed me to your dogs, or something like that!"

  "Firstly, I don't WANT to kill you. I spent some time looking for someone like you, someone who would be right for the job. Secondly, I can't turn you into a vampire."

  Again all I could say was "Huh?"

  "I'm not an Antecedent," he said.

  "You're not a what?"

  "Sit down please," he said again. This time, I sat. He obviously wasn't going to let me leave, so I might as well listen to what he had to say.

  "I am not an Antecedent. Only Antecedents can make vampires. I am what is called an Ectype. I was made but cannot make others. I told you, society and legends have skewed the truth and muddled it with bits and pieces of fact and fiction."

  "So what is an Antecedent?" I asked.

  "Antecedents are the sons of Cain, the father of all vampires. They are of his blood; his lineage."

  "Like the guy from the bible, Cain and Abel, Cain?" I asked.

  "Yes, he was the first to be cursed. After he killed his brother, three angels came down from Heaven and each asked for his repentance three separate times. When he refused, they each laid a curse upon him and his descendants. The first cursed him to only walk the night, never again seeing the light of day. The second cursed him to only consume the blood of animals. The last, took from him his mortality, so he would live with the consequences of his actions for all eternity."

  "But wait, you said all vampires were impotent. How can they have a lineage?"

  "I said mostly impotent. Our blood doesn't flow like a mortal's does. It is slower and colder. My heart beats but slowly, and the blood does not circulate like a mortals. Tell me, Em, what causes an erection?"

  Did he really want me to answer that? Whoa, junior high health class flashback.

  "Ummm, increased blood flow to the, ah, um, to that?area," I answered. "Ohhh ok, I get it. Since your blood is not hot and doesn't flow you can't, um?yeah, got it. Then how does Cain have descendants?" I repeated my original question.

  "That's where the "mostly" part comes into play. When a vampire feeds the surge of warm blood to our system creates the circulation we need to perform and now with medical advancements, there is the little blue pill that can also get the job done."

  "Ok so, Cain found him a little vampire wife and hatched a bunch of little blood suckers."

  "No, a female vampire cannot sustain life, she can't carry a child. That circulation problem again. An Antecedent must find a mortal to carry his child."

  "Oh my God!" I interrupted. "That's why you want me? ?to make you some vampire babies!!!"

  "No! I told you, I am not an Antecedent. I cannot make vampire offspring. Just listen. An ant-te-ceee-dent," he emphasized, "finds a mortal woman to carry his child. That child is born half vampire half human. They are called seeds. When that seed comes of age, preferably between twenty and thirty years old- but it can be done at any age- that child drinks of his father's blood and like that, another Antecedent is created.

  "Ok, I'm confused. So what happens if you have a baby? Is it not a vampire?"

  "That child would also be half vampire half human, but I am not of pure blood so he could not drink from me and become a full vampire," he answered.

  "So how were you created?" I asked. "You drank from an Antecedent?"

  "Yes," he answered.

  I sat there thinking about all of this for a few moments.

  "Do you believe all that I'm telling you now?" he asked.

  "It's almost too crazy not to believe," I answered.

  "So let me see if I've got it straight," I said. "Ants are the descendants of Cain. They can make other Ants by having offspring, but can make vampires like you out of any ol' Joe Shmo, and they are called etypes?"

  "Ectype's," he corrected.

  "?and you guys can't make vampires or have full vampire children?"

  "Correct," he confirmed.

  "So do Ectypes like you just raise normal children?"

  "We do not raise our children at all, usually. We rarely form bonds with the mother or the children. When you become a vampire your feelings and emotions are muted and your physical attributes are heightened. You don't feel love, pain, or anger very strongly, but you have a keener sense of sight, strength, speed, etcetera."

  "So you don't feel anything at all?"

  "I feel, but not very strongly to any emotion. I still have good moods and bad moods. I can be amused or disappointed, but I have no extreme of any emotion. I don't feel, love, hate, or rage. Hybrid children do grow up mostly normal. This is usually where you get your athletes and serial killers. Ectype offspring being half vampire have slightly heightened physical abilities and slightly lessened human connections. They tend to be a little cold-hearted."

  "Wow, I think I've dated some hybrids," I said with a laugh, and Bo smiled back showing his fangs just a little.

  "So what about Ant offspring? What if they never drink from their fathers?" I asked.

  "Then you get people like Li and Wu," he replied.

  "They are seeds?unfertilized?" He laughed at my reference.

  "Yes."

  "Wow, I guess Wu really does need to protect his neck," I laughed.

  "Li is eighty-six years old and Wu is forty-five, they both look almost half that. They will both probably live to be at least one hundred. Their strength is impressive also, but they are mortal and will die eventually.

  "So what about you, how old are you? Do you just keep living until someone drives a stake through your heart?"

  "I've honestly lost track, I'm approximately two hundred and seventy. A wooden stake will incapacitate a vampire, but will not kill it. More mixed in myth."

  "Holy water?"

  "No."

  "Crucifix?"

  "Rubbish."

  "Dismemberment?"

  "My bones cannot be broken."

  "Do you sparkle in the sunlight?"

  "That's insulting," he said. "Sunlight is deadly, however," he added, "and fire. That's the only true way to kill a vampire?.a burnt offering for the sins of our ancestors."

  "Does the sight or smell of blood drive you into a frenzy?" I asked.

  "Does the sight of a steak send you into a frenzy?" he shot back.

  "Sometimes," I laughed. "How often do yo
u eat people?"

  "Well, I don't 'eat' people. I drink their blood, but it doesn't have to be human. I can drink blood from anything: dog, cat, human, deer. Blood is blood. It just all tastes a little different. We try to stay away from consuming humans as much as possible because it draws too much attention. People are usually missed when they disappear."

  "So you can't just drink a little, you have to kill them?"

  "A whole human is a lot of blood, the equivalent to a five-course meal for a mortal. What would happen if a human was bitten and lived to tell what happened? Also, if I only drank half, a human would die from losing that much blood anyway. So you may as well drain them dry."

  I don't know at what point I believed him, but I did believe him. The speed and fangs were there, and it was just all too in depth to be made up. A psycho wouldn't have so many details about the life and history of vampires. He somehow made it all sound logical. I was still scared of him. After all, he could rip my head off and drink me down at any moment.

  "So what now?" I asked unsure of what to say or do.

  "Now, you say that you'll work for me," he said with a smile, the bottom of his fangs peeking out.

  "I don't really have a choice, do I? Ok, I'll do it."

  "Great!" he said and clapped his hands together which made me just about jump out of my skin.

  "Go home, Em. I've thrown a lot of information at you tonight. I'll be in touch."

  "I can go home?" I asked.

  "Of course," he said. "You're an employee, not a prisoner."

  He had me stop and see Li on my way out, who had me fill out a W4. Which seemed wildly normal considering the conversation I just had upstairs. It was only ten-thirty by the time I got out of there, and I wasn't tired at all. Actually, I was pretty sure I was in a little bit of shock. So I stopped by the liquor store on my way home. It took about five Vodka and cranberries before I could even think about sleeping. Still then, I didn't sleep very soundly.